Sunday, August 15, 2010

Yup, you read it right. This is a discussion challenge based on a book that is aimed at helping us reverse the tragedy of neglecting God. It's a sort of paradox but one well worth pondering if you are interested in having your perspectives and choices and behaviors and relationships and FRUITFULNESS radically transformed for the glory of God.

Let me quote here from Francis Chan's "Forgotten God":

"There are very few people in the Scriptures who received their life plan from God in advance (or even their five-year plan, for that matter!). Consider Abraham, who was told to pack up his family and all his possessions and start walking. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know if he would ever be back...

I think a lot of us need to forget about God's will for my life. God cares more about our response to His Spirit's leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit RIGHT NOW, in TODAY's decisions.

...God wants us to listen to His Spirit on a daily basis, and even throughout the day, as difficult and stretching moments arise, and in the midst of the mundane. My hope is that instead of searching for "God's will for my life," each of us would learn to seek hard after "the Spirit's leading in my life today." May we learn to pray for an open and willing heart, to surrender to the Spirit's leading with that friend, child, spouse, circumstance, or decision in our lives right now."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?--Which is harder: discovering God's will or responding to the Spirit's leading?--Is this just a play on words or is there something here that can fundamentally change the way we live or thrive or experience God or even honor God?

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